Assignment 14A

Assignment 14A Halfway Reflection

1. Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

It has been essential to find a good balance between this class and my other ones.  Learning how to control and maximize my time throughout the day has been a key item of my success in the class.  Finding time to interview various new people and do the write ups for the assignments has been time consuming, and without learning to balance my obligations, I wouldn’t have been able to do all that effectively.  Handling multiple assignments per week from this class alone, combined with my total workload is a lot to manage on a daily basis.

2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this? 

There were some points where I felt like giving up.  The amount of assignments I had was excessive and I didn’t think I could do them all successfully, especially since I had exams.  What helped me was breaking everything down and making a list of what I had to do.  Oftentimes, things seem worse than they actually are.  Stepping back helped me to get motivated again and do all that I needed to and feel better about the workload.

3. Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset'?  

1. Foster the skill of balancing obligations. It’s easy to get caught up and lost in all your responsibilities and fall behind.  Learning to balance everything you need to do is crucial to achieving your full potential academically and otherwise.

2. Watch/Go to the lectures.  The lectures are valuable learning tools for the class and the Cupcake assignments.  Keeping up with the lectures will help you better understand the concepts in the class.  They are often very entertaining too, and you’re learning something.

3. You need to be in a hardworking and motivated mindset to succeed. This class has a lot of assignments and is very involved.  Being motivated to do good work is an essential trait.

Assignment 13A

Assignment 13A

I read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs.

• What surprised you the most? 

I think what surprised me the most was Jobs’s tumultuous history in initially running the company that is such a high-powered juggernaut of industry today. It was very unexpected considering what a success story Apple represents today.  I think Jobs exemplified how to overcome adversity, in his personal and professional affairs.  What surprised me was how Jobs was able to think differently, drawing inspiration from his surroundings in profound ways.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? 

Jobs was always willing to do whatever it took to succeed.  He recognized the importance of making your own way in life and creating your own opportunities for yourself.  Hard work was a core part of Steve Jobs’s identity, and he was easily able to brush off critics and skeptics.  Jobs believed in himself and all his endeavors wholeheartedly, and took overall quality seriously.  He wanted to make a great product.  All of these were brought on by Jobs’s most admirable trait, dedication.  Jobs was dedicated to doing the best in everything he did. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? 

Jobs’s personal life was definitely a roller coaster, and I don’t particularly agree with how he treated ‘imperfection’ in his eyes, having a short and active temper with his associates and peers.  I also think Jobs showed too much pride in himself and what he wanted to create.  Perfectionism is good, but Jobs’s manifestation of it was taken to the extreme.  Jobs was uncompromising.  This can also be seen in his approach to his cancer diagnosis, choosing to reject proven traditional medicine.  I feel this was at least somewhat driven by pride on his end, choosing to solve the issue his way, but ultimately failed to do so.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Steve Jobs had a lot of adversity and challenges thrown at him during his life, but was very successful in overcoming them.  He got fired from his own company, and instead founded his own new NeXT venture, which eventually brought him back to Apple as (eventually) CEO.  In the meantime, he had his activities with Pixar and Toy Story, the IPO that made him a billionaire (not Apple, surprising, since it is worth a lot more than Pixar today).  Jobs put a lot of work and thought into every business action and endeavor, and many of them succeeded.

• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

I think Steve Jobs excelled at creativity and innovation.  He even manipulated the press on his products through careful planning.  This goes hand in hand with his penchant for recognizing talent.  An example would be investing in design and aesthetics in the case of Jony Ive.  Jobs saw opportunity in the personal computing space and Pixar as well, making him very wealthy.  

• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. 

I wouldn’t say confusing, but intriguing how Jobs had the ‘reality distortion field’.  Bending reality to your will to make things happen sounds like a foreign and crazy concept.  Yet, Jobs actually found a way to pull it off, eventually inventing an entire never before captured market.  

• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? 

I would ask how he was able to consistently overcome challenges in his life. Jobs exemplified perseverance and didn’t listen to negativity, even going so far as to believe he could shape his own reality. I would also ask if he foresaw his own success.  With his philosophy of the ‘reality distortion field’, did he see himself achieving as much as he did?

·        For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? 

      Steve Jobs’s opinion of hard work can be easily seen in his worldview of the ‘reality distortion field’. Hard work was the only way that Jobs could’ve risen from his humble roots to become an American tech tycoon and businessman.  Steve Jobs created his own opportunities through constant hard work done to absolute perfection.  I agree with him on this, hard work is definitely the path to success.

Assignment 12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 1

Assignment 12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 1

Targeted segment: 

I chose to interview a segment of young college music creators in the DAC (Digital Audio Collective – a UF music club).  All 3 interviewees were members.

One (Chris), is an EDM music producer and DJ.  (His artist name is allwack). Another is a hip hop/trap producer and rapper. The third is an EDM creator who headlined a few local festivals.  All of them expressed interest in the collaborative end of the business, since they already have good studio setups and speakers.

Interviews:

I interviewed all 3 at the same time after a DAC club meeting. 

They Google things like ‘local Gainesville local music festivals’ to go to, but mostly find connections from the people they know

Two members find collaborators through club activities, like recruiting or beat competitions.  One member likes to go to local music festivals, and has sometimes met future collaborators from there.  Music hobbyists at festivals often play music of their own, and the background can help people meet each other.

Friends and family are the most common sources of collaborators for these guys, usually a friend from the club. 

Essentially, their need/desire to collaborate with other artists happens when they’re planning out a music project or trying to release one of their songs. 

How this need occurs is because collaborations are an essential part of music and the arts, and it is fun to link up with other creators and use different ideas to create a great distinct track.

The need can happen in any location, it is just dependent on time.  It is usually experienced when recording or preparing to release a project.

When the need happens, the first thing to address it was just asking another one of the club members if they would be interested or just doing a solo track.

What I learned: 

I learned the demand for collaboration is larger than the one for the studio equipment.  A lot of people in my targeted demographics and markets already have the equipment and some music experience.  They are now looking for others in the local area to work with and learn from.  All of the interviewees liked the idea and would get involved with collaboration, either buying it themselves or joining our team.

No one had heard of any services offering anything close to Hyperspeed HomeStudio.  All three liked the service and thought there was a market for it.  They all bought their own equipment when they started getting serious.  Now that they are further along in experience and knowledge, they’re looking for others to collaborate with on various songs and projects.

Since they look toward music festivals and club recruiting for potential sources of collaborators, choosing to already Google things like ‘local Gainesville local music festivals’ to go to, Hyperspeed HomeStudio could help expand this.  Maybe some of the people at the festivals would already be interested in being creators for the platform. 

How I would describe this segment: 

There are a lot of young college students that have thought of picking up or expanding on their music pursuits. This segment would not buy the service’s equipment side, but would buy into or become a part of our collaborative aspect.  This would help these local artists get more experience in the craft as well as exposure.

Assignment 11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

Assignment 11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

• Hi, my name is Ulysses, I go to UF and I’m a Business Administration major specializing in Information Systems.  I have a talent for producing and creating music, releasing my first album a few months ago in December.  I have been making beats for a year now, and have released over 15 songs.  I know how to execute a vision for a music track and can guide others to do the same.  I have a passion for music and the drive to be the best possible.  If this business concept were to succeed, it would be awesome and create change in my life, possibly allowing me to bring my music to hundreds of people instead of just family and friends and make money at the same time.

2.                What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

• I am offering a customizable music experience for customers through rental of studio equipment, sessions with professionals, and the opportunity to learn music.  Peoples’ unmet need would be solved through Hyperspeed’s combination of offerings, the only company on the market for this.  For only $200 a day ($575 for 3 days), customers get an entire studio setup mailed to their house and a 2.5-hour session each day with an in-house producer, songwriter, or audio engineer, depending on their needs.  I am offering the opportunity to gain knowledge about music production and creation.  If anyone wants to learn to create music quickly and easily, Hyperspeed is the service that helps you do that.

3.                Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common? 

• I am offering it to two main groups: those who want to rent a studio equipment setup and learn to make music, and those who would like to collaborate with the professionals on the platform. Included in my target market would be young affluent college students, amateur music professionals (for the collaboration service), middle class affluent music enthusiasts, beginners to music creation.  This service will mostly be marketed toward men based on the demographics of the DAC, although women are also encouraged to buy it.  Music should be diverse.  While this service is marketed for the lower end of music production, it is still at a premium price in the minds of many consumers. 
• That’s why the second aspect of the collaborative service would be marketed as the lower end of HomeStudio, encouraging people to get lessons before renting the equipment.  Other music creators can pay a $60 flat hourly rate for the opportunity to work with our in-house staff.

4.                Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

• I think customers will pay for this service if they want a way to learn to make music.  Hyperspeed offers all the tools necessary for people to learn to create very easily and for very cheap considering its overall value.  If you want to get individualized music tutoring like this service provides, you would easily pay double or even triple.  Hyperspeed delivers a unique consumer-personalized experience not found anywhere else.  There is nothing else like our offerings and for the radically underserved market.  Hyperspeed is unique, affordable, and valuable.

5.                What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?  

• First and foremost, I am a musician and artist.  I feel this allows me to intimately understand what I’m offering because I only recently just learned and know what worked for me and now know how to improve the initial learning process.  My connections in the local Gainesville music scene allows me to attract some initial talent for the service.  Musicians know musicians, and that’s a valuable thing.  There is nothing to serve this market right now, and competitors wouldn’t be able to provide such a personalized and in depth product to consumers as affordably.  This business model is customized to us and fitting this wide market need.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.  

• I think most of the elements align with each other, but I would say that my collaboration aspect of the service is not as strong as other pieces of the business.  At a set price on the low end, I would have neither the money or industry connections to get A List talent to be on the service.  This forces this aspect to stay on the low end of consumers rather than at a high-end price.  I don’t have any preexisting partnerships with well-known industry talent, so it may be difficult to initially attract people.  Shipping costs may also be volatile, but have been accounted for in the price of the service.  Otherwise, my business plan and its various elements are pretty solid.  I feel our price point and offerings make us well positioned to capture the available market.

Assignment 10A - Elevator Pitch for Hyperspeed Inc

Assignment 9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Assignment 9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

  

• Who: There are several groups of people falling outside my market. These include music majors, who according to Interviewee 3, have the necessary resources already at their disposal and industry professionals like Interviewee 5, who said he has enough collaborators and wouldn’t buy it.  Local performers like the DAC (Digital Audio Collective – a UF club) interviewees also wouldn’t need the equipment-based service since they already have nice setups to work on their music with.

• I also found out the collaboration feature of the service would depend on having a lot of diverse types of in-house pros. Two of the people I interviewed in the DAC club are involved with EDM and Alternative music, and asked if the service would have other local EDM producers on it, something I’d never considered.
• Interviewee 2 said that music majors would most likely be a good market for my service, but Interviewee 3 (a music major) said she would not use the service since there are already instruments and equipment in the music building.
• What: Interviewee 5 essentially confirmed this service would not be for high up industry professionals. People like this have no interest in our offerings since they have access to all these tools themselves.
• Why: The need isn’t significantly different, it’s just whether or not people already have the necessary equipment and expertise.  For those who don’t, Hyperspeed is the perfect vehicle to teach them. 

                                                           

Inside the Boundary                                                    Outside the Boundary

Who:		Music enthusiasts who can afford the service			Music majors that already have the tools necessary for their projects
		Creators who want the opportunity to work with others			Those who already have access to facilities to record and others to collaborate with
		Those who want to learn the skill and process of music			Some music industry professionals
What:		Making music			Providing access to A-List celebrities and stars
		Working with music professionals Getting music equipment delivered to you			Becoming a music pro in a day or a week Providing studio equipment installation
Why:
	Music is an essential part of our culture, as are its most prolific creators People who are skilled and have worked in music a long time can help beginners learn easily Not everyone has access to a professional music studio nearby and/or can’t afford the high rates			The service is cheaper than studio rates, but is still expensive to the average consumer.  However, it’s not enough to afford A-Listers Getting to a professional level in music won’t happen quickly, it takes years of experience Several people in the general targeted demographic already have equipment, access to it, and/or enough people to collaborate with